


Prologue

by Arynphallia



Series: A Wolf, a TARDIS and the Bonds Between Them [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Crying, Episode AU: s02e13 Doomsday, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, Time Lord Rose Tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 17:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19445746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arynphallia/pseuds/Arynphallia
Summary: The Void closes and Rose runs to the wall, slamming her palm against it. "Bring him back!" She cries, "bring him back!"But it's no use, the walls between worlds have sealed and everyone she loves is trapped on the other side. Other than the TARDIS, Rose is completely alone.





	Prologue

The Void closes and Rose runs to the wall, slamming her palm against it. "Bring him back!" She cries, "bring him back!"

Rose presses her temple to the expanse of white in front of her and prays. Prays that the Doctor can clever his way out of this but deep down she knows. The walls are sealed. He's gone and there's no way for him to get back. 

It's a strange solitary walk back to the TARDIS, her empty hands aching for the hand she'll probably never get to hold again. 

The TARDIS is singing when she steps back through the doors. It's a quiet, mournful song that you feel more than hear. It's a comfort and further pain when Rose realizes that the ship is grieving along with her and that, without the Doctor, she'll never fly again. 

"I'm sorry," she whispers, caressing the coral strut that the Doctor's coat rest on. "God, I'm so sorry." 

Rose Tyler curls up in the jumpseat, wrapped in the Doctor's coat and she sobs her eyes out. The TARDIS seems to cry with her, humming mournfully around her, trying to embrace Rose telepathically, but it's difficult without the Doctor as a conduit, though their connection is much stronger than any she's ever had with a human.

They stay that way for hours, ignoring whoever comes and pounds on the door. No one can get through without a key and neither of them are in any state to deal with people. But eventually, Rose will have to come out because who ever is out there will try to move the TARDIS and she's going to have to stop them. The Doctor wouldn't be happy if she let some random scientists dismantle the ship. 

The TARDIS, for her part, starts planning, trying to find a way to save her Thief and her Wolf from their suffering. It will take time, and its incredible risky, no TARDIS has done anything like this for thousands of years. But it will make sure that neither of them are ever alone. She flashes her light and chirps to get her Wolf's attention.

“What is it?” the Wolf asks, rubbing her eyes. The ship leads her around the console to one specific panel. One that is popped open, a golden glow seeping out around the edges. The hum of the TARDIS in her mind increases in volume until it's all Rose can hear. 

The TARDIS gives her Wolf the choice.

She doesn't hesitate, lifts the panel and breaths in the golden light of time and the love of the TARDIS. Together, they fly into the vortex and settle there to give Rose time to recover from the changes. 

Just before she takes her heart back she binds them together, weaving their lives and timelines together tightly, forming a bond no TARDIS has shared with another living creature since the early days of Gallifrey, before the Time Lord. 

***

Rose Tyler lives, but only just. Humans aren't meant to survive the exposure to the vortex that Rose has had.

She's listed as dead from battle of Canary Wharf, but she is very much still alive. She lives in the TARDIS staying in the Vortex, in the time that is not time, and she reads every single book in the library she can get her hands on, trying to learn how the TARDIS works. Physics, temporal mechanics, TARDIS maintenance, the list of subjects the ship presents her with goes on and on. But they do a world of good: she's able to make some repairs to the console, which allows her to land somewhere in the 65th century on a market asteroid. She acquires the parts she needs to do more repair work and goes back to the time vortex. This cycle continues for god knows how long; she works on the ship, learns how to repair Her better and works on the ship more.

She goes through the process of emptying his coat pockets out, transferring anything that could be useful into a blue leather jacket she wears constantly. The psychic paper is convenient but she longs for a sonic screwdriver. And while the bigger-on-the-inside pockets would be useful, she can’t bear to wear his coat, she leaves it draped over the coral strut where he last left it as a reminder to keep going. 

***

When she figures out how to work the equipment in the medbay she runs a full body scan, frowning to herself at the noticeable changes to her physiology. The two hearts were completely unexpected, as were the changes to her lungs. She's trying to figure out what's different and the ship sends her an image of a book labeled Gallifreyan Biology. It's the work of minutes to find it in the library, seated on a shelf next to  _ A Collection of Legends, _ which she knows to be Gallifreyan children's stories. The biology book reveals that her lungs now have a respiratory bypass (she spends hours in the pool testing that out), and the legends help her finally understand what happened.

An old legend from Gallifrey, speaks of the first of the Time Lords. Long before Rassilon, this woman strove to understand the creatures that would become TARDISes. She worked to communicate with them and became the first TARDIS Sister. This allowed her to travel through time and space, using the coral that makes up the living component of a TARDIS. 

"You made me like her." Rose says to the ship and receives a rush of affection in reply. "But why?"

_ My Thief has gone. We would be alone. This way, we are alone together _ . The TARDIS whispers into Rose's mind, it's rare that she actually uses words rather than images and emotions, but they've been talking like this ever since the Doctor regenerated. 

"So I'm like him then? A proper Time Lord?" Gentle amusement is the response and an image of a turkey in the oven, not yet done baking.

"Is there anything I need to do to finish cooking?" Rose asks, continuing the metaphor.

_ Learn _ , the ship sings, sending her an image of a specific part of the library.

There, Rose finds books on dimensional travel which all tell her what she already knows; there's no way for her to go and get him. The ship nudges her and shows an image of him on a beach and her in the console room.

"You're helping me find a way to say goodbye, aren't you?" Rose has started crying but it's not anything new. She hasn't done much but cry and study the entire time she's been in the vortex. 

It takes some jiggery-pokery, during which the TARDIS let's out a cheery ding and presents her with the very own sonic screwdriver. This, of course, makes her cry and she has to take a break.

Three months of work behind them, the TARDIS finds a gap. A tiny, barely there gap, just big enough to project an image through. The projector, as she calls it in want of a name, takes a supernova to power up but God is it worth it. She's going to see him again. Going to be able to make sure that he and her mum are okay. 

Her hearts are racing as she waits for the signal that will tell her that he's there. The ding sends her into a near panic until she points her new sonic and watches him fade into existence right in front of her eyes.

"Rose." He breathes and she gives him a shaky smile.

"Hello."

"Where are you?" He asks and she looks behind her at the console.

"I'm inside the TARDIS. She an' I came up with this plan. There's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye." She's crying again, but they're gentle tears, not the great heaving sobs that had crippled her just hours before and she's grateful for that.

"You and the TARDIS?" She can see the gears turning in his mind, trying to figure out what she means. 

"Yeah, gotta stick together. Besides, I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm dead back home. So're mum and Mickey." She takes a deep, shuddering breath, wipes her face and quickly changes topics, "Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"

"We're in Norway." He gestures vaguely around them, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Norway. Right." It was a stupid question, but really, all she wants is to hear his voice so she can memorize it, memorize this last glimpse of him. 

"About fifty miles out of Burgen." He adds in that drawling tone he gets whenever he's explaining something and wants to appear nonchalant."It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."

"Dalek?" She gasps.

"Dårlig. It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay." A brittle smile spreads over his face as she tries to swallow the lump in her throat. She knew then. Knew when she saw all of time and space that this would happen. "How long have we got?" He blurts, pulling her from the self loathing she was starting to spiral into.

She checks the timer on the console, "About two minutes. I can't think of what to say!"

Jackie comes running over then and Rose's knees nearly give out, "Rose!" She yells, lunging forward but the Doctor catches her.

"I'm just and image, mum, no touch." Jackie jerks away from the Doctor and steps closer to Rose.

"I have so much to tell you, sweetheart. Me and Pete got married, and you're going to be a big sister!" Jackie beams but there's a lingering sadness around the edges.

"That amazing, mum." Rose doesn't have to force her smile, she's actually happy for her mum.

"Are we ever going to see you again?" Jackie asks.

"You can't." Rose and the Doctor say at the same time. 

"Both universes would collapse." Rose adds and Jackie lets out a sob, Pete comes over and leads her away just a bit, giving Rose and the Doctor the illusion of privacy.

"What're you going to do?" Rose asks the Doctor.

"Pete's offered me a position at this Universes Torchwood. Not ideal, but I've got experience dealing with aliens, humans included. And who knows, maybe someday I'll be able to figure out a way back." His hands slide into his pockets in a show of false nonchalance. And he doesn't have to say it, but she knows he expects her to be gone by the time he's able to return. "But Rose, what are you doing?"

"Like I said, me an the TARDIS gotta stick together. And I reckon this universe needs someone to look after it. Why not me?" 

"Rose." He breaths and she can hear the heartbreak in his voice. He clears his throat, "Rose Tyler-"

The projection ends, he's gone and it's just Rose Tyler and the TARDIS once again, his unfinished sentence hanging in the air.


End file.
